


Thought of You

by natashasbanner



Series: Prompts [65]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Implied Relationship, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Pre-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-16 15:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16956582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natashasbanner/pseuds/natashasbanner
Summary: Natasha gets and unexpected gift for her birthday.For the prompt: Can you do something to fill in the blank between AOU and Civil War of how Natasha gets the green necklace in honor of Bruce.





	Thought of You

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea since the first pics on the necklace came out, I just never got around to writing it. Please enjoy :D

Natasha never liked her birthday. In the Red Room, every year her training and conditioning got more and more brutal until her graduation. Her birthday wasn’t something to be celebrated. After she joined SHIELD and met Clint’s family she’d slowly started coming around to the idea. 

Last year, Tony got everyone together for a big party and it hadn’t been so bad. She got a few presents that weren’t completely useless. Her favorite of course came from Bruce. For months she’d been borrowing from his collection, sometimes taking the same book multiple times. He’d never said anything about it, but on her birthday he surprised her with her own copies of the books she’d taken more than once. 

This year was completely different. At the moment, she was the only one at the new facility. Steve and Sam were gone looking for Barnes again and Wanda and Vision were out for the day. She’d woken up to a text from Clint that contained a video of the kids wishing her a happy birthday. It put a smile on her face. 

Most of the morning and early afternoon she spent in the training gym. In the afternoon, she treated herself to an indulgent lunch in the city and spent the rest of the evening exploring and shopping. All in all it wasn’t a bad day, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.  

To her surprise, Tony was waiting for her when she entered the main living area of the facility.

“I didn’t know you were in town,” she said, slipping off her coat off and tossing it onto one of the empty chairs. 

“Only for a couple days,” he said. “I couldn’t miss your birthday.” 

His tone was teasing and Natasha raised an eyebrow. 

“Why are you really here, Tony?” She crossed her arms. 

“I come bearing gifts.”

Natasha shook her head and stepped around him to get to the fridge in the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water and turned around to lean against the counter. 

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” she told him, taking a long drink from her bottle. 

“This one isn’t from me.” 

She furrowed her brow and watched him pull a square box from his suit pocket and slid it across the island between them. 

“It’s from the big guy.” 

Natasha froze, her bottle halfway to her lips. 

“Where’d you get that?” She pushed off the counter and set the bottle down. If he’d known where Bruce was this whole time, she’d kill him. 

He held up his hands and took a step back. “Stand down, Widow. Happy’s been clearing out the tower for me and they found it in his lab, with this.” 

He pulled a envelope from his pocket as well and set it next to the box. 

“It’s got your name on it.” 

Natasha eyed the box and envelope and looked back up at Tony. 

“Thanks,” was the best she could muster, trying to keep her emotions under control, but slowly losing the battle the longer he stood there. 

“I’ll leave you alone,” Tony drummed his hands against the island and turned on his heel to leave. “Happy birthday, Nat. My present for you is down in the garage when you’re ready.” 

She smiled and watched him until he got on the elevator. She stared at the box and envelope. Her name was written on the envelope in Bruce’s familiar handwriting. It was usually an illegible scrawl, but it was clear he’d taken the time to make it look neat, for her. 

She decided to open the envelope first. It was a cheesy, brightly colored birthday card with a silly joke that made her laugh. He did write a little note at the bottom. 

_ ‘I saw this and thought of you.’  _

Natasha set down the card and cracked open the lid of the jewelry box. It wasn’t anything extravagant, not that she’d expected it to be, not from Bruce.That didn’t mean it wasn’t beautiful, the simple silver chain with its green stone. She ran her fingers over it delicately before lifting it out of the box. The stone glittered in the overhead light, the same green of her eyes. To her it looked like the shocking green of the Hulk’s skin. 

She hooked the clasp around her neck, and let the gem rest between her collar bones. It felt like her arrow necklace, the one she’d bought despite Clint’s protests, a tribute to someone she loved. It was a reminder that he was still out there somewhere, even though they couldn’t find him. 

He just hadn’t come home yet.


End file.
